May reason reign over emotion. May educated choices shape the world of tomorrow as opposed to passionate impulse.
I am a young law student, & try to view the world rationally, I believe strongly in the supremacy of the individual, & this is my blog sharing ideas.
Thanks for visiting.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Racist Ron Paul comes to the aid of a mixed-race couple in Texas in 1972 when the wife was in labor pains and no doctor would help them. When her black husband asked for help from the hospital, they called the cops on them. Ron Paul cared for the mother, and never sent them a bill for the service. This is charity. This is looking beyond the color of a person's skin, this is looking at someone for who they are and not what category they fit into.

"True racism in this country is in the judicial system and it has to do with enforcing the drug laws... the percentage who use drugs is about the same with blacks and whites" yet blacks are imprisoned way disproportionately. "If we truly want to be concerned with racism . . .we should look ta drug laws being so unfairly enforced." RP

According to Google, as of Feb 11, 2012, with 87% of the precincts reporting (why is this not 100% yet), Romney had 39% of the vote and Paul 35%. Note though, that this gap is suspected to have shrunk with the remaining precincts. However, this does not mean anything at all, this is a mere straw poll of opinion. Maine delegates are not bound by the straw poll.

Maine has 24 delegates who will go to the RNC. These delegates are unbound and may choose whomever they want to be the republican nominee.

3 delegates are the state party's national committeeman, national committee woman, and the Republican Chairman (Webster).

15 delegates are selected at-large, this vote was done on Saturday May 5th.

6 delegates are chosen at district votes

The 3 delegates by position (called super delegates) are Romney supporters. Note that at the delegate convention, in a narrow and highly contentious vote, in which sitting Chairman Webster called Ron Paul supporters "wingnuts", Ron Paul supporters managed to elect to Chairman a liberty supporting candidate, Brent Tweed (although Webster will still be going to RNC). Also, Ron Morrell was elected Secretary, another Paul supporter. These candidates that won were obviously not the endorsed establishment candidates.

I have read unconfirmed reports that Ron Paul supporters managed to elect all 15 of their liberty delegates in the at-large vote.

I do not know the current situation of the smaller regional votes for delegates as of now. I would be guardedly optimistic that Paul will do well in these contests as well. They are supposed to be held today (May 6).

OVERALL, Paul will win ME, and also will have managed to change the leadership of the republican party at the state level in electing a State Chairman who supports Paul. Romney backers and the establishment are not happy about the results. Webster did not say that the Paul supporters were breaking the rules, but did say this situation was emblematic of why they should switch to a primary vote instead of a caucus process for choosing delegates. The establishment's anger and frustration in losing control were exemplified by David Sawicki, in the picture below, who made a motion to halt the delegate confirmation process. His motion was ruled out of order. Source

I am so proud of Maine and all those people who sacrificed their entire day to be there to support Paul. I admire the state for their dedication, respect for others. NH should listen to Maine and live up to their creed, "Live Free or Die."

UPDATE: Governor LePage was elected one of the 15 delegates at-large to represent the state of Maine. Gov. LePage is a RON PAUL delegate. Go Maine.

UPDATE: It would appear that there was a fake Ron Paul slate of delegates made by a Romney supporter to split up the Paul vote, this was caught on video. Also note in this video that Gov. LePage is listed as a delegate for Ron Paul.The Video which is also below.

Also, Paul delegates kept winning so the votes were continuously "invalidated." Paul delegates kept winning though so the "strategy" did not work.

UPDATE:
Someone at the caucus listed several tactics used to delay the process and try to get Romney delegates elected. Source

the convention got delayed 2.5 hours off the bat because the Romney people came late

after the first vote elected the Ron Paul supporting candidate with about a 10% lead, Romney's people started trying to stall and call in their friends, the chair was a Ron Paul supporter and won by 4 votes some hours later (after Romney's people tried and failed to steal some 1000 unclaimed badges for delegates (mostly Ron Paul supporters) who didn't show

everything was met with a recount, often several times

Romney people would take turns one at a time at the Ron Paul booth trying to pick fights with a group of Ron Paul supporters in an effort to get them kicked out, all attempts failed through the course of the day

the Romney supporters printed duplicate stickers to the Ron Paul ones for national delegates (same fonts, format, etc) with their nominees' names and tried to slip them into Ron Paul supporter's convention bags

in an attempt to stall and call in no-show delegates, Romney's people nominated no less than 200 random people as national delegates, then each went to stage one by one to withdraw their nomination

after two Ron Paul heavy counties voted and went home, Romney's people called a revote under some obscure rule and attempted to disqualify the two counties that had left (not sure if they were ever counted or not)

next they tried to disqualify all ballots and postpone voting a day, while a few of the Romney-campaigners tried to incite riots and got booed out of the convention center

Saturday, May 5, 2012

SEC. 1031. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE.

(a) In General- Congress affirms that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons (as defined in subsection (b)) pending disposition under the law of war.

(b) Covered Persons- A covered person under this section is any person as follows:

(1) A person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored those responsible for those attacks.

(2) A person who was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.

(c) Disposition Under Law of War- The disposition of a person under the law of war as described in subsection (a) may include the following:

(1) Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.

(2) Trial under chapter 47A of title 10, United States Code (as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2009 (title XVIII of Public Law 111-84)).

(3) Transfer for trial by an alternative court or competent tribunal having lawful jurisdiction.

(4) Transfer to the custody or control of the person's country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.

___________________________________________________

So, the President can "use all necessary and appropriate force" (1031a) to detain "without trial until the end of hostilities" (1031(c)1) or transfer to "any...foreign entity (1031(c)4)...any person who has committed a belligerent act" (1031(b)2).

So long as this is law, any belligerent United States Citizen can be indefinitely detained virtually anywhere and by any entity or organization, whether foreign or domestic, until "the end of hostilities" (ha). First of all, hostilities never end. The United States now engages in wars with no end, such as the war on terror. The most dangerous part of this bill however is that it does not require any evidence of actual threats to the country, it merely requires the person be found to have committed belligerent acts. The gravity of the invasion into civil liberties which this bill constitutes is mind-blowing. This must make China smile. This is state control. It is disgusting that Obama signed this into law.

Appeal to the liberal left:

I know you disagree with Paul on his fiscal policies, but I believe he deserves your vote nonetheless. As President, he can reverse the erosion of our rights. He can restore our civil liberties. He as commander in chief can end the wars and begin a foreign policy of peace, which is long-overdue. He can save numerous lives and money. I hope this is more important to you than his fiscal policies. Obama and Romney are both for more war, and less rights. Paul is the only real choice for an alternative here.

Jury Nullification is a means by which the common person can effectuate change. You have a right as a juror to refuse to uphold immoral laws. Do not allow a trial to be commandeered by the government. Trial by jury is a right of The People against the Government. It is the means by which the people can express their discontent with the government.

"A right to jury trial is granted to criminal defendants in order to prevent oppression by the government."Supreme Court Justice Byron White

"...[T]he institution of trial by jury especially in criminal cases has its hold upon public favor chiefly for two reasons. The individual can forfeit his liberty to say nothing of his life only at the hands of those who, unlike any official, are in no wise accountable, directly or indirectly, for what they do, and who at once separate and melt anonymously in the community from which they came. Moreover, since if they acquit their verdict is final, no one is likely to suffer of whose conduct they do not morally disapprove; and this introduces a slack into the enforcement of law, tempering its rigor by the mollifying influence of current ethical conventions. A trial by any jury...preserves both these fundamental elements and a trial by a judge preserves neither..." Judge Learned Hand

Thursday, May 3, 2012

This is an amazing woman who stands up for those who have no voice. Who stands up for what neither the Republican nor Democratic party is willing to accept, that our interventionist policies, that our killing of people overseas, including American citizens, is making us less safe, is horribly immoral, and is unpatriotic. It is not what the founders wanted, and it is not in line with the tenets this country was founded upon. This brought a tear to my eye.

--EXCUSE ME, BUT I SPEAK ON BEHALF--
"Excuse me, could you please talk about the innocents killed by the united states, what about the hundreds of innocent people we are killing by our drone strikes in Pakistan, and in Yemen, and in Somalia. I speak out on behalf of those innocent victims, they deserve an apology from you Mr. Brennan, how many people are you willing to sacrifice? Why are you lying to the American people and not saying how many innocents have been killed? I speak out on behalf of Tariq Aziz in Pakistan who was killed because he wanted to document the drone strikes. I speak out on behalf of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, 16 year old born in Denver, killed in Yemen, just because his father was someone we don't like, I speak out on behalf of the Constituion, on behalf of the rule of law, I love the rule of law, I love my country, you are making us less safe by killing so many innocent people around the world, shame on you."

The speaker continues after the woman protester is escorted out of the conference room,
"Thank you, ...more broadly, Al Qaeda's killing of innocents, mostly men, women, and children, has badly tarnished its appeal and image in the eyes of Muslims around the world."

After making her heartfelt appeal, the speaker continues, citing the backlash occurring against Al Qaeda for their killing of innocent people. The irony of this statement, after her speech of how the drone strikes "are making us less safe" is beyond ironic. It is eerie, foreshadowing, ignorant, blind, disgusting. I do not know what it is other than a tragedy. Below is the story of Tariq Aziz, the person the protester cited in her speech.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

I posted this because most people still believe Obama is better than the alternative when it comes to civil liberties and promoting peace in the world. The conventional wisdom is that Obama has a Nobel Peace Prize and Romney is the warmonger who will trample on our liberties. The truth is that Obama is no better. Obama not only has not protected our civil liberties but he was elected promising to do exactly that. People hear criticism of Obama and automatically think it is "bullshit," but it is not.

Obama is highly supported by corporations, slightly less than Romney but significantly more than Ron Paul.

Obama authorized the assassination of US citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki and his 15 year old son, going further than even President Bush was willing to go. Source

Obama had a chance to give voters someone to rally behind to really protect their rights, freedoms, and fight to change government. He has not. He has doubled down on Bush era policy. There is no "Obama Doctrine." There is just the Drone heavy, take no prisoners version of the Bush Doctrine perpetuated by Obama.

Obama signed off on the NDAA. The power now entrusted to the executive branch is scary. That was what really cemented it for me.

The beauty of this grpahic, and the reason I posted it, is because it starts off humbly reminding us of why we love Obama, it is simple and to the point. He was a man who made it despite the odds, a person not from the inside, not born into wealth, not chummy with the big corporations. Then it brutally reminds us that he failed to live up to expectations. That he is in fact just an establishment President.